Fountain-pen



stares PATENT OFFICE.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

Specification 6r Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1920.

Application filed July 3, 1919. Serial No. 308,581.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PnnoY Prmnrs SAN- roan, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at YVoodridge, in the county of Sullivan, State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to fountain pens and more particularly to animproved inkfeeding device for fountain pens.

The most important feature forthe-successful operation of any fountainpen is the uniformity and accuracy of the ink-feeding device.

the air pressure of the barrel should be substantlally uniform. As theink is supplled from the barrel to the pen, it is necessary to replacethe ink removed with an equal volume of air to prevent the creation of avacuum or an excess pressure in the barrel. A large number of differentforms of inkfeeding devices have been made for maintaining a uniformflow of ink, and although many of these devices have a well regulatedflow of ink when the barrel is nearly full of ink, they have a very fullflow of ink when the barrel is becoming empty.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an ink-feedingdevice for a fountain pen which will give a uniform and regulated flowof ink. The fountain pen illustrated in the drawings is arranged toprovide anink-feeding device which may be easily adapted for use withany of the various kinds of steel pens so as to allow a new pen tobe-frequently substituted. Practically all of the fountain pens on themarket use a gold pen point which is permanently "fixed in the pen andthe ink-feeding devices are specially molded tosuit the par ticular penpoint used. To obtain the various kinds of pen points for differentkinds of writing, such as fine, coarse and medium, it is necessary tohave a separate fountain pensfor each kind of 36D point. Also, thepermanent gold pen points ave not been extensively used by accountantsbecause the accountant prefers to use a new steel pen every To maintaina uniform ink flow reardless of the uantit of ink 1n the barrel, C3

Accordingly, another object of the invention is to )rovide a feedingdevice for a fountain pen which may be easily and effectively adaptedfor use with any of the different kinds of steel pen points.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ink-feeding devicefor a fountain pen which will effectively prevent ink from hardening inthe feed and air passages to clog the same.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theimproved fountain pen and inkfeeding device hereinafter described andclaimed.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a view in longitudinal section illustrating fountain penembodying the preferred form of the invention;

. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the improved ink-feeding device;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view of the fountain pen with sections takenon the line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4L is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the fountain pen taken onthe line 4E l of Fig. 1. l

The fountain pen shown in the drawings consists of an ink barrel 10, afeed holder 12 threaded into one end of the barrel, a writing pen 1-";mounted in a slot 16 in the holder 12, a feed tube 18 adjustably mountedin the holder-12, and a feed strip 20 which passes through the feed tube18 with its outer end making a point cont-art with the pen 1i and itsinner end extending toward the rear of the barrel 10.

The barrel 10 is preferably made of a rubber composition or it may bemade of any plastic composition or metal which will not be corroded bythe acid constituents used in making the ink. The most convenient formof barrel is a hollow cylinder having a closed end 22 and an openthreaded end 24 arranged to receive the holder 12.

The feed holder 12 is preferably made of the same type of material asthe barrel and has a threaded shank 26 arranged to co6perate with thethreads 24 formed in the open end of the barrel. The slot 16 in theholder The feed tube 18 consists of a cylindrical tube formed ofnon-corrosive material which is slidably mounted in a bore 28 (Fig. 4)

formed through the center of the holder 12/ The outer end of the feedtube is turned upwardly (Fig. 1) toward the pen 14L. face of the outerend of the tube v18 is substantially parallel with the longitudinal axisof the pen 14L. This face, however, does not contact with the pen but isseparated from the pen only a sullicient distance to permit the outerend of the feed strip 20 to be adjusted for use with different kinds ofpen points and to permit air to freely enter the end of the tube; Thedistance between the face of the outer end of the feed tube and theunder face of the pen is made as small as practicable so that theinkwill remain in the tube substantially throughout its travel to thepen. In this way, the ink is protected from evaporation andoxidation andwill not harden to clog the ink-feeding passage. The feed tubepreferably has such a length that it may be adjusted longitudinally inthe bore 28 to be adapted for use with any of the different lengths ofpen points and still have the inner end of the tube extending entirelythrough the holder 12.

The construction and arrangement of the feed strip 20 constitute animportant feature of the invention. The strip 20 is mounted in a pair ofoppositely disposed grooves (Fig. 4) formed on the inner surface of thefeed tube. By this eonstrue tion, the strip forms two separate anddistinct passages through the tube, the upper passage 32 through thetube being adapted for coi'iducting inkto the pen and the lower passage,34 being arranged to conduct air back into the barrel. Most inks containacid or acid reacting materials and the strip is preferably made of ametal which will not be affected by the constituents used in makinginks. Otherwise the reaction products of the ink and metal would soonclog the ink passage 32. The metals known in the trade as"nicrom andatarite have been found to besuitable for this purpose. The invention,however, is not limited to-the use of these'metals since othernoncorrosive metals have been used. Although it is pre ferred to usegrooves 30111 the sides of the feed tube 18, it is not necessary to usethese grooves because -with a strip 20 having a uniform width and a-tubehaving a uniform diameter, the joint made between the 'strip and thetube is suflieiently tight to form two separate and distinct passages.

the ink andthe air through the feed tube 18, the feed strip 20 ispreferably polished.

of ink. The

The smooth surface of the metal is particularly helpful in leading airback into the barrel under a very slight vacuum suction. The feed strip20 is shown as extending to approximately,theclosedend of the barrel 10so that it will assist in conducting air up to the end of the barrel/when it is full It is not necessary, however, to have the strip extendsuch a longdistanee from the inner end of the tube 18 because once theair is past the'end of the feed tube, it will readily work its way tothe end of the barrel. i

The feed device described above acts so efiiciently to carry air intothe ink barrel that some kinds of ink flow out to the pen point toofreely. To regulate the ink flow, aplug 86 is adjustably mounted in thepasssage 3% at the inner end of the feed tube 18. By adjusting the pluginto and out of the passage 34, the resistance to flow of the airthrough the passage may be varied to obtain any desired ink flow. Theplug 86 further serves to maintain the feed strip 20 in any desiredposition if a feed tube is used which is not provided with grooves 30.

' he feed strip 20 also serves to deliver ink to the pen 1 f since thefeed tube does not touch the pen. In adapting the feed device for pensofdifferent shapes, the outer bent to touch the pen without placing apressure thereon. A short flange 38 igs. 1 and 2) is formed on the outerend of the feed strip which is arranged to directly contact with thepen. The flange 38 acts to change the direction of flow of the ink atthe point where the ink is delivered to the pen and prevents ink fromdropping off the end of the feed strip.

.itlthough the improved fountain pen described above is well adapted foruse with steel pens, it is apparent that it is equally well adapted foruse with a permanent gold pen. The term steel pen as used in thespecification and claims is intended to mean any of the various types ofpen points which are used with the ordinary holder when ink is dippedfrom a well. These pens may be made of steel or any of the variousotherapproved kinds. of metals.

' The preferred form of the invention having been thus described, whatis claimed as new 18 z. To assist 1n obtaining a free flow of both 1.Afountain pen having, in combination, a tubular reservoir, a feed holdersecured in one end of sald reservoir, a pen secured mounted. in saidholder, a feed tube extend ing through said holder witl its outer endpresenting a lateral opening to said pen and mounted in close proximityto but spaced from said pen, and a feed strip e2:- tending through saidtube with one end makin a point contact with said pen within the areaopposite said opening, said strip forming two separate and distin 'tpassa es through said tube.

3. A fountain pen having, in combination, a tubular reservoir, a feedtube mounted in one end of said reservoir, a pen moun in the end of saidreservoir adjacent said tube and a substantial distance into saidreservoir, a feed strip passing through said tube and forming twoseparate and distinct passages throughout the length of said tube, saidstrip making a point contact with said pen.

4%. A fountain pen having, in combination, a tubular reservoir, a feedtube mounted in one end of said reservoir, a pen mounted in the end ofsaid res rvoir adjacent said tube, and feed strip passing through saidtube with its outer end making a point contact with said pen and itsinner end extending close to the rear of said res-.

ervoir and making contact with a wall thereof, said strip forming twoseparate pass ges through said tube.

5. A fountain pen having, in combination, a tubular reservoir, a feedtube mounted in one end of said reservoir, a pen mounted inthe end ofsaid reservoir adjacent said tube, a feed strip passing through saidtube with its outer end making a point contact with said pen, said stripforming two separate passages which are open throughout the length ofsaid tube, and a plug mounted in one of said passages arranged topartially close the same.

6. A -fountain pen having, in combination, a tubular reservoir, a feedtube mounted in one end of said reservoir, a pen mounted in the end ofsaid reservoir, adja cent said tube, a feed strip passing through saidtube with its outer end making a point contact with said pen, said stripforming two separate upper and lower passages through said tube, and aplug mounted in the lower passage arranged to partially close the same,said plug being adjustable to vary the resistance of the flow of airthrough said passage.

7. A fountain pen having, in combination, a tubular reservoir, a feedtube mounted in one end of said reservoir, a pen mounted in the end ofsaid reservoir adjacent said tube, oppositely disposed groovesthroughout the length of said tube, and a feed strip passing throughsaid tube and mounted in said grooves, said feed strip forming twoseparate and distinct passages through said tube, the outer end of saidstrip making a point contact with said pen.

8. A fountain pen having, in combination, a tubular reservoir, a feedholder secured in one end of said reservoir, a pen mounted'in saidholder, a feed tube extending through said holder with its outer endmounted in close proximity to but spaced from said pen, a feed stripcomposed of a non-corrosive, flexible, non-resilient metal eXtenoingthrough saio tube and forming two separate and distinct passages therethrough, and a flange formed on the outer end of said strip arranged tomake a point contact with said pen. I

In testimony whereof I ailiX my signature.

PERCY PHELPS SANFORD.

